According to Articles 9, 11 and 19 of the Law on the Radiation Protection and the Article 10 of the Law on the Management of Radioactive Waste, since 1 May 2004, the RPC has become the regulatory authority in transport of radioactive materials and radioactive waste. The RPC shall issue permits for the import, export, transit or transportation in the Republic of Lithuania of radioactive substances intended for individual and public health care institutions, enterprises, research and educational institutions as well as institutions of public administration and local government, also shall issue permits for the consignor to transportation within the country, export and transit the radioactive waste.

The order of issuing of permits for the import, export, transit or transportation is determined in the Regulations on import, export, transit and transportation of radioactive materials, radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel in Republic of Lithuania, approved by the Order No V-1271/22.3-137 of the Minister of Health on 24 December 2008.The permits are issued and shipments are carried out according to requirements of the Council Directive 92/3/Euratom of 3 February 1993 on the supervision and control of shipments of radioactive waste between Member States and into and out of the Community and the Council Regulation 1493/93/Euratom of 8 June 1993 on shipments of radioactive substances between Member States.

In accordance with the provisions of the Regulations on Licensing of Export, Import, Transit and Intermediation of Strategic Goods, adopted by the Government Resolution No. 932 on 22 July 2004, the RPC coordinates the applications to issue import licenses and import certificates for the strategic goods and dual-use commodities.

 

A single permit issued by RSC is necessary in order to import, export, transit or transport within the country the radioactive materials or to export transit or transport within the country the radioactive waste. The number of permits issued in 2008 is given in Figure 1.

Most frequently sources were transported between EU member-states (33 times). The largest part of sources imported into Lithuania are the unsealed ones used in nuclear medicine (both diagnostics and therapy) - ¹²⁵I, ¹³¹I, ⁹⁹mTc, and research - ³²P, ³³P, ³H, ³⁵S.

It is noted that number of permits for transportation of radioactive materials and radioactive waste is not varying within the last years and approximately 70 such permits are issued each year. However, ratio between amounts of radioactive materials and radioactive waste has its trend. An amount of radioactive waste transported inside country is decreasing, radioactive materials – increasing. It is due to the fact that number of sources which are left from soviet times and which are to be sent for a long-term storage is decreasing. Starting with the end of 2005, imported sealed sources are sent to their manufacturers when they are spent.